Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-04
DOOM OF A LAND BOOM.
Tho California Crsza SubsidiDg-4ppre-
pensions Among Spectators that the
Thing Has cen OverWoFked.
s.5, ooO, 900 Due Before January on In
stallment Furchases-Who VIII
Get Hurt.

signs that the real estate boom totters.
There is more feverish haste al over
this southern country to unload town
lots: the projectors of town are, here
snd there, Offering better terms; the
hand of music in big wagon has to toot
louder and longer to get up en- excite
,nert. the resi- estate Offices begin to dis
r,.v "temptlng Offers" men who some
months sgo demanded a third down, and
GOT i. are now ready to take 10 per cent
9own-the balance in six months and
veer. or even "the balance az your
convenience" Then there is the other
kind of real estate man who announces
in large letters that the lots remaining
unsold two weeks hence will be
withdrawn from sale, or at that
the price of lots will be raised by
10 per cent. on every Monday hereafter,
snd now is your chance" Meantime
prudent men are quietly drawing out, re-
alizing what they can, and there are por-
tentous rumors of "Washr or fictitious
sales. Indeed, some newspapers in the
state are honestly warning the public TO
beware Here and there "boom" has
broken down, fixed out, got stranded.
A San Francisco paper lately printed
On editorial freely charging that the eIe-
ment Of fraud was not lacking in the
boom. But il must be seid that SO far
as the southern part Of the state is con-
cerned this prophet cries in the wilder
ness, and they would "heave q rock at
him" if be were within reach, as an alto
gether too pessimistic prophet for these
times.
81 Doubt" said San Franciscan here
the other day, "whether there is 8 house
anywhere of Montgomery or Market
street in Frisco that VIII sell Ior more to-
day than it would hsve brought two years
ago, snd that seems to me S fair test for
Il business man who has money to put
into business lots. But there hiss been
boom with US. On, yes, of course; a
boom in sand lots out near the park.
Things you could have bought two years
ago for So & front foot have brought
SIS; and when man buys that sort of
property be needs TO cover it up quick to
keep II from blowing eWsy. On, yes, We
had a boom. We've got lots of fools,
too, but it's shout petered out, guess,
and the fellows VINO have got their money
in will not get it out very soon"
GLOW long can it last down here?"
"Heeven only knows. There has been,
so far, no shock TO confidence. But look
here-veTy few people are paying cash
down for what they are buying, because a
very small proportion OF buyers meen to
hold. The universal rule has been one
tliTG down and the balance in SIX months
and g year. OF lste sellers are taking s
tenth down which is sign that the buy
ers are less eager. Well some Of US
made calculation the other day which is
startling. 1t is that, taking the
whole country between San Diego
= and Sacramento, in which the specu-
lation has been most rampant, the de-
farred payments, due in November and
December, will foot up ABOUT SIS, 000,-
600. That is to say, the great army of
men and women spectators who have
bought for Use and paid q third or less
down must pay up between forty and
forty-tive millions between now ana next
January or forfeit their purchases and
what they have already paid.
Goa" said listener, "I'm not scsred
4 hundred thousand eastern men are
coming in here this wiuter with money in
their pockets. They'll give the boom 6
new life"
"Msy be So" said the first speaker
but don't believe it. l wouldn't advise
an eastern man to buy even farming ianC
in Southern California st present prices
Everything down here IS up in the air
You'll see that the eastern tide will rust
up into the northern part of the state
unless they are fools enough up there tC
get up d boom, too. l was down in Lower
California the other dsy to look around
and n the hotels at Eusensds you may
see lots OF cur own people, Los Angeles
Riverside, San Bernardino men, farmers
from Santa Barbara county and SCI
Louis, and al over the San Joaquin-mel
that Will tell you thst the high prices
have driven them ont, they have sold out
or they couldn't afford to buy, and the,
are in Ensenade looking for cheape
lands, such as a man can afford TO owl
and get q profit from cultivating,"
II Il is true, as this man believes, this
between now and Janusry l, $4,000, COZ
will have to be paid cut as installment
due on real estate transactions, III
greater part of which are speculative, tn
collapse draws near. In the opinion @
many Californians the sooner the bette
for the real estate interests of the state
OF course 8 collapse IN speculation vii
bring down prices of productive propert
also, for a time, but it is generally &C
knowle dyed here that the prices aske
for farming and orchard lands are goo
deal too hi Oh in all the southern half c
the state. Orange land, with abundan
water assured, may be worth, if very is
vorsbly located, $500 to $500 an scrt
but such land has of late changed hand
at 500, $500 and even $1,000 an acre
Wheat land, fit for nothing but grain, hs
been sold at $50 to 5000 en- acre; raisi
lsnd has gone off readily st $3.50 to SAC
per acre. Such prices ought to rep,
bona flde purchasers.
The sres of land suited by climate sr
other conditions to the culture Of oranges
olives, pruues, spricots, welnuts, an
other specially profitsble fruits is COZ
SANITY widening in this state, as eXper
ments are made in places further nortl
The climate OF the foothills is favorab
to many CT these fruits north of Sacr
mento. At present, of the $50, 900 orans
trees planted in this state, Los Angelo
county has $50, 900. and San Bernsrdir
county PA, 200. But Butte and Place
counties, lying north OF Sacramento, hay
$4,000, and the olive culture seems to /
spreading all over the state.
For the very best orchard lands an e1
ceptionglly high price will always be OF
tainable, but il is now settled fact tn
the area fairly well sdspted to the grow
of such fruits is much greater than WI